


Seven Minutes of Magnanimity

by ExploretheEcccentricities



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Abuse, Aftermath of Torture, Angst, Bad Pasts, Blink and you'll miss it, Blood and Injury, Bullying, Cursing!, Dark, Doubt, F/M, Gen, Graphic Description, Implied Insanity, Implied mental illness, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Insecurity, It's time to beat up Eugene, Mild New Dream fluff, Public Humiliation, Public Punishment, Slight gore?, Some hurt/comfort, Swearing, Torture, Villain Varian, self-hate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:49:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29381625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExploretheEcccentricities/pseuds/ExploretheEcccentricities
Summary: King Varian has some unfinished business, and he wants to make sure that justice is upheld.Flynn Rider was finally to get his rightful due.(Darker version of the King Varian AU)
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Rapunzel, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Varian, Rapunzel & Varian (Disney)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	Seven Minutes of Magnanimity

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! This is a darker version and continuation of the King Varian AU I made a few months ago (don't worry, I didn't actually intend for the KingVarian AU to originally turn out like this so think of this as...an AU part of an AU). I miss writing whump and am trying to ease back into all of this so there's that!
> 
> In this story, Varian takes over Corona during the end of S2/near-beginning of S3, wipes away the king's and queen's memories with the Saporians, but then lies and takes charge as the king of Corona. In the beginning of S3, Rapunzel and the gang return to Corona and are captured, and Varian wants to show them a new policy he has introduced to the already broken system. 
> 
> The first time I drafted this was in the Scar Varian Server on Discord. Thank you to all the lovely people there and their generous support!
> 
> Please read the tags! There will be violence and graphic descriptions of injury (as well as bullying). Also it has a lot of cursing!

It is cold. 

The intrepid, distant sound of newly polished heels is cold, clicking and clamoring against cold puddles, echoing and entrancing and eccentric in the hollow chasms of his ringing ears as the cold splatters of rain paint his pale face, blind his exhausted eyes, drench his hair and trickle down his sharp chin.

Eugene squirms, trying to move-before freezing short of his next attempt, a sudden and searing flare of agony pulsating up his spine, coruscating along his muscles as it resonates throughout his being.

His wrists ache, clattering with the cold, heavy metallic cuffs surrounding them, and seemingly heavier chains tethering him to the earth-enough to enable movement, but never enough to let him free. It would never be enough-nothing would be

His lips twitch, before his eyes are raised. They don’t raise on their own-he cannot do much on his own. Not anymore. No, they raise because there is a small yet firm, _cold_ gloved hand gripping the underside of his wet chin, forcing his gaze up.

Cold blue eyes clash with his own… _cold_ pain and accusation alight in eyes that had once looked up to him so fondly once, smiled in a once-brilliant sun, _trusted_ him with a once-profound and endless adoration.

“Do you see this, _Flynn_ ?” The cold voice, the cold boy…the cold _man_ hisses with contempt and disappointment, once-bright eyes cold and darkened with distrust. “This is what it has come to. All of your pandering, all of your talk of change, all of the sycophancy you were so fond of showering upon those who you believed had made you _better_ , and above the people who you used to be like…are now mine to teach. Mine to judge. Mine to subdue. _Mine_ to discipline. You all need a lesson in _discipline._ That's what you and everyone else thought _I_ needed, didn't you?”

A sudden swing-a foot, the painful and ensnaring tip digging sharply into his jaw as Eugene gasps and nearly doubles over. The chains cling and clamor, disallow him from doing so. A cold, bitter metallic fluid floods his mouth, staining his teeth, gurgling in his throat with every dry, wretched gasp and heave. "It's not so nice now, is it? To actually receive punishment and bear the consequences? Especially when _you're not in charge of delivering them?_ " Varian hisses, voice dripping with distaste. Eugene's ears ring, and he recovers, breath still faltering as he tries to look past the boy in the rain and see who had gathered behind him.

Eugene shakily fixes his eyes on Varian. "You don't have to do this."

Varian scoffs, waving his hand and looking around at the crowd as his voice dons a bitter, sarcastic tone. "I don't _have_ to do anything. No one does. For instance, _you_ didn't have to lead a battalion against me before I even commited a crime against the crown, and _you_ didn't have to agree to hound up an entire kingdom into my village for the sole purpose of having me jailed and possibly killed. But you know-" His voice returns back to its original calm, cool composure. "You don't have to talk either. This is just a lesson that you and every other self-entitled prat in this palace needed to learn."

"What are you trying to accomplish?" Eugene speaks quietly, anxiously looking around.

Varian's face freezes then, and for a split second, his brow is dropping, his eyes softening as he looks out to a waiting group- Stalyan, the Baron, Anthony the Weasel, Lady Caine and a group of Saporians. "I want you and everyone like you to see and feel how low you make us feel and look. Trampling over people all your life before happening to meet the right woman and then happily trample back into society like the self-serving freeloaders you are. Pretending like you were never one of us. Pretending like you were never poor, never orphaned, never hungry...never alone." Varian answers quietly, simply, voice steeled even as he lowers it. "You, and others like you, get away with greater crimes for lesser reasons because you _can_ and then beat the rod down on _us_ -the less fortunate, the ones who didn't happen to be in the good graces of rich royals and disgusting loyalists. You don't get to be a prince, Flynn." Varian then states, in an almost sorrowful, wistful tone. The sharp edge of his voice earlier is dampened, before stiffening and re-assuming position.

"You don't get to be Eugene. You're Flynn Rider-a cheat, a thief, a servant. You've made your choices...after all, you wanted me to suffer for mine. _You all did_." Varian's lips tremble then before stiffening and he sharply sucks in a breath, blinking back something unfathomable as he looks up at the grey sky and quieting rain. "You and everyone else made it clear there was no way back for us unless we suffered...and that should mean that there's no way back for you, unless you've suffered too." Varian's voice is faraway now, as though talking into space, eyes unfocused as he looks away from Eugene, voice steeled still. "And if you don't impart that justice on your citizens, what kind of prince consort would you have become, had I not rescued this country from the grips of your and the former princess’ leadership?"

Before Eugene can say much else or even process everything the boy had said, heart wilting in pain and panic at each slice and sear of the still and sharp words, Varian ushers the mask back in on himself, eyes narrowing and chest puffing out as he prepared to make a small speech. 

"Citizens of Corona! Welcome, and thank you all for joining the Seven Minutes of Magnanimity!" Varian enunciates with his arms raised, voice trembling at first at the unprecedented rise in volume before carrying itself routinely, smoothly...instinctively.

The relatively small (but growing) crowd of people cheers-some half-heartedly, some in confusion, some in ready elation, and some in protest.

“Eugene!” A shriek, pitched with panicked despair and laced with concern as he blinks in shock and whips his head in the direction of the voice.

There stands Princess Rapunzel-well, more like struggles, because the woman is bound in chains, her long heavy locks of hair restrained as tightly as her arms as she is pulled by two of the Saporians and made to stand a distance away from him-facing him, facing the 'punishment' he was to bear.

Something dark and impatient flashes haphazardly through Varian's eyes then, and they narrow, sparkling even in the dim light and cold gush of breeze. "SILENCE!" He yells, jutting a trembling finger in Rapunzel's direction. "You do not speak unless spoken to!"

The woman's eyes widen before narrowing, harboring just as much anger and hatred.

"No!" She protests, louder and clearer and more adamant than before, unable to stem the growing despair and pleading tone in her voice. "No, I will _not_ be quiet! What the hell, Varian? Let him go! You may have troubles with me, or my parents-we can talk that out! You don't need to do this! _Keep Eugene out of this, please!_ " Her eyes then flood with tears, slowly sensing the helplessness she felt and the inevitability of the situation.

The Saporians behind her frown in irritation and cautious alarm, and one of the women moves to gag Rapunzel. Varian raises a hand, however, and Eugene's heart leaps in his throat, thundering powerfully against his chest and wrenching his empty, aching stomach all the same. He is about to plead with either of them-tell them to stop, to not hurt each other or him....but then Varian's brows knit together inquisitively. 

"No." He says, stopping the Saporian woman. "Let her scream. Let her scream and speak all she wants so she knows and remembers what it's like to be unheard."

Rapunzel eyes flash then, with foreign emotion and a vulnerability that she instantly stomps down, lips twitching before they steel and spit out in disgust. "Who says I don't?"

Varian ignores that, violently shoving away the momentary sympathy flickering in his eyes before enunciating to the crowd again. "I, your gracious king, have decided to allow you something that no one else in the seven kingdoms ever has nor ever will." He forces a smile then-strained, painful against his gaunt face, unfamiliar and uncaring. "You and I know what it's like to be wronged. To feel hunted. To be made to feel hurt and then more hurt for hurting." A few of the doubtful citizens chatter amongst themselves, the air amist, suffocating and crackling with the synergy of cynical whispers and bitter contempt and questioning glances. 

Eugene's doubt falters, hope dwindling and mind numbing as he registers what is actually happening...what is about to happen. He thinks of Varian's words, trying to ignore the sudden urge to once again fall victim to the overwhelming rush of self-loathing and doubt that had been haunting him since the moment he met Rapunzel and tried to take a step forward, _away_ from his terrible past-the thing that spurned and stewed the sleeping nightmare within him, _of him_ , that stirred so much shame and distrust in himself…

"Well..." Varian then feeds the crowd, still straining to hold his smile as he quietly looks to his supporters before the opposition and the doubtful. "What if I told you that there was a way to fix that? A way to make you hurt less?"

Rapunzel's eyes narrow, head shaking. "This won't fix anything. Varian, you know it won't. Please...please stop this." She pleads, eyes glistening with tears.

Varian swallows thickly, pointedly turning away and lifting his arms as he speaks louder, his voice echoing into the still silence. "Many things cannot be fixed, but they _can_ be corrected. They can be controlled. They can be...better." He states. "They can be made easier to bear, bearable to live with...manageable to live by" He then turns to Eugene, quietly running his eyes over the man's haggard appearance and the chains tethering his arms and legs before turning back to the crowd. "I want you to know, citizens, that _I_ understand that. I understand what you're going through...what you've _gone_ through. I know how to make things better. If only you'd _trust me,_ _understand me_.... _listen to me_."

Eugene's eyes narrow...and then he spits at Varian's feet. It doesn't hit his newly polished boots-rather, it sinks forgotten into the swallow of sallow mud surrounding him-but it elicits Varian's attention nevertheless. Eugene spits out, voice low and still with contempt: "As if listening to you has helped anyone before."

A flash of dark red paints and speckles the boy's cheeks and nose, a flare of darkness pulsing behind his cold blue eyes as he whips around and strides quicker than expected towards Eugene. He comes to stand behind the crouched man, grabbing him by the hair and digging his fingers sharply into Eugene's skull, twisting painfully into the dark brown locks the man had once meticulously brushed. "This is Flynn Rider. You may know him as Eugene Fitzherbert-a temporary mentor to Corona's guard, the guy who frequents the barber's shop and once set a trend, the restored prince of the Dark Kingdom, or even the future prince consort of Corona. But in truth, there is only one thing he truly is-"

And then Varian pushes Eugene's face forward, and the man yelps before falling, his arms stretching painfully in the chains and yet his front still managing to hit the ground as his face sinks in the very mud. Eugene instinctively closes his mouth, eyes watering with humiliation and pain as the putrid scent and texture of the ground floods his nose, before he feels his head being yanked back up again, spluttering and gasping as he tries to catch his breath, trying to blink rapidly as he tries to clear the mud from his eyes, nose and mouth. Varian's voice is distant and yet ever-clear. " _A criminal about to be served his rightful due._ "

"The Seven Minutes of Magnanimity is a new policy-a _privilege_ , you'll see." Varian continues. "It is designed to channel societal aggression and collective pain towards the recovery process of most traumatic, painful incidents-by giving back the pain caused to the victim(s), to the abuser(s), or those who caused it. Retributing the frustrations and pain you may have felt upon realizing you or your loved one had been robbed, or cheated, or kidnapped, or murdered, for example." Varian's eyes glisten then, and his nose wrinkles, hands clenched into fists where they shook by his side. "Think of it as...fair compensation."

"But that's _not_ fair." Rapunzel argues. "Physically hurting someone who stole from you when that person didn't physically hurt you _to_ steal from you doesn't-"

" _The allowance and normalization of public physical punishment_ -" Varian enunciates over her, interrupting swiftly and ignoring her glare. "-dispenses the need for individual judgements and situations to be generalized or even overlooked. I am allowing you to cause whatever pain you want to this criminal-" He points at Eugene. "-for the next seven minutes. My only conditions are that you don't kill him, and that you retreat as soon as I call that the seven minutes are over." Varian's eyes narrow then. "Anyone who transgresses these two conditions will be put through similar punishment."

Varian then stretches a hand and gestures for a woman to come forward-Stalyan, in her sleek back dress, her long and usually groomed brown locks drenched and sticking messily to her face and neck. Her eyes are cold and calculating, looking over Eugene and causing his heart to nearly stop in his throat. He tries to meet her emotionless glare and guise his disbelief-how was she even here? What more could she possibly want?

"Hello. Would you like to introduce yourself, so we can get an idea of how this works?" Varian asks pointedly, seeming more like his old self now before that retreats yet again.

Stalyan nods, lips twisting as though withholding something before speaking. "I-I am Stalyan. Eugene worked for my father, the Baron, a well known crime lord in Corona and Vardaros...and then Eugene and I worked together...as partners in crime."

Rapunzel's face flushes with anger and betrayal, eyes narrowing as she huffs indignantly. "I thought you'd changed." Rapunzel presses. "And why should you get to deliver punishment when _you_ wronged too-and when you tried to force Eugene into marrying you by poisoning Lance? You did far worse than Eugene ever did! You shouldn't get to deliver his punishment!"

Stalyan blinks at her before looking at Varian, who shrugs, though he looks as though he was just hearing this information now. Before she talks again, however, Varian quickly adds in: "His name is Flynn-not Eugene."

Stalyan stares, before her brows scrunch together in thought, and then she nods in concession. "People don't change, princess." Stalyan replies softly, looking ahead at the crowd and then at her feet. "Their priorities do. Their reasons do. Their faces do. And it would behoove you to know that the whole 'poisoning Lance' idea was not mine. I told my father it was excessive but he insisted. He's used to getting his way-as I am." She lifts her eyes, looking almost sadly at Eugene. "As for myself, well-I paid my due compensation and punishment long ago. Far beyond Corona and far after you and I retrieved the Eye of Pincosta, if that eases your concern." Rapunzel's eyes narrow in distrust, disgust and disbelief. 

Stalyan then turns fully to Eugene. "I'm sorry I allowed my father to do that to you and Lance, Eugene." She then says quietly, in a surprising apology that no one expected. Eugene's eyes squint, bewildered. "And...I'm sorry I tried forcing you to marry me. There is an easier way for compensation. I see that now."

Stalyan then raises her voice, steady anger and impatience trickling in at Eugene's clueless face. "I want you to feel the pain I did when you led me on and left me at the altar as though I was just another one of your _possessions_ -the women you loved wooing and whose reputations you loved draping over yourself like your beloved riches before they fell out of use and you had to leave them behind. I never left it behind, Eugene. And I never would have left you behind. I’ve been trying to leave this behind for years. But...but _you left me behind._ " She points in his direction, and Eugene's jaw clenches in simultaneous anxiety and anger.

She then looms over him-powerful, tall, judgmental and threatening as she had always been- giving him little preparation before swinging her fist straight into the center of his face. Eugene yells out, hands straining in their cuffs as he tries to make a move to defend himself, to possibly shield his face, to fight back. Instead, a sharp agony flares up his nose, trickling into his cheeks and burning at the center of his face as he feels a thin stream of blood begin dripping down, looping over his lips and seeping onto his tongue as he gasps for breath. Had Stalyan been wearing her metal rings?

Thankfully and surprisingly, it was just one. Stalyan looks at him as though he was the scum of the earth, down her nose and violently shoving aside the pity that might have shone in her dark eyes otherwise. "They never could get your nose right." She sneers, before turning on her heel and moving away, ensuring that a bit of mud from it flicks in the man's direction as he tries to recover from his smashed nose

Many of the audience gasp at the sudden punch-some in fear and protest and shock that this was even happening, others in cheer and mocking jeer and encouragement and sadistic satisfaction. Rapunzel sobs aloud, her protests and pleas escalating.

Eugene gasps, trying in vain to swallow away the sudden rush of helpless tears as the Stabbingtons come forward, a few Saporians lingering behind them. 

"We're still going to be in jail, you know. No thanks to you and our time together. We were going to die...and you couldn't care less. You left us to _die_ , Rider. You led us on, cheated us too, and while we wasted away you got to be held to different standards and walk away with nothing less than endless riches, a future at the very throne you weren't 'sympotical with'. Remember that?" One of them sneers, looking down at Eugene with contempt and hatred. "But if we are to get executed tomorrow, at least we'd know we reminded you of what you get for _living_ -"

A sharp kick at his bloodied nose. Eugene cries out fully this time, Rapunzel's scream and the crowd's chatter falling out of place in his whirring, desperate mind, ducking his head. Before he can, however, one of the other Stabbingtons grab him from behind, steadying him so the other can punch him in the gut, face, whatever parts of him they can reach. Once one finishes, the other switches positions, and- _burnsie? or was it...sideburns? what did he call this one? He couldn't think straight or remember much when under this much pain_ -and then Eugene takes it-one flash of pain after another, each running deep and gruesome and pulsating endlessly, longer after each blow-until he can barely keep himself up, wheezing and cursing under his breath.

"Okay, gentlemen!" Varian's voice rings out from somewhere in the mess of tears, blood, and pain-unsure, lower than before, _cautious_ though it dare not intervene. Eugene blinks, breath nearly stuttering out a thanks before grimacing at himself. "I'd hate to interrupt b-but there are other people who need to have their turn and there's only four minutes left."

The Stabbingtons glare, still dissatisfied, delivering their last blow each as Eugene staggers and his head nearly lolls back in his neck limply, his body not giving him the mercy of falling unconscious and yet not allowing him reprieve from the recent wounds.

Eugene closes his eyes tightly before opening them, trying to ascertain that this isn't a nightmare and whimpering softly as he looks at who's next in line-Anthony, Weasel, Baron, a few other people he might have seen before or worked with but couldn't remember...and even a few Coronan citizens, including Feldspar (who looked extremely reluctant).

The punishment lasts about three more minutes-three more agonizing, grueling, terrifying minutes of being punched, hit, kicked, thrown, pushed, pulled, sworn at, and cursed- an eternity of nothing but the sound of his own heavy breaths as he tried to remain composed and make the most of his consciousness, tried not to grimace or weep at the feeling of smooth streams of blood seeping into his mouth and splattering over his face, tried not to panic or soothe when Rapunzel's screams and struggles, pleas to stop, fell on deaf ears, the woman actively thrashing and outwardly cursing everything and everyone as she tried making her way over to him, tried _calling out to him_ as though she could make things alright. With a wounded soul pulsating fresh with the scathe and squalor of the beatings left on his abused body- verbal, physical and emotional-Eugene doubts anything will ever be alright again.

When they finish, Eugene is staring at the ground, eyes blown wide and bones suddenly too heavy as they sag within the confines of his tarnished flesh, throat dry as he realizes he had been begun screaming halfway through it all, stifling his own tears and cries as he tries to recollect himself, seem composed.

He wants to fall face-first in the mud. He wants to be limp, lifeless. He wants to lose consciousness and shut out every ounce of mortification, humiliation, agony, self-contempt, confusion, despair, frustration, impatience, and anger coursing painfully and powerfully through his weakened being. The chains hold him back-cold, clinking, clamorous, _familiar_ . Cold chains. It is too cold. He _feels so cold_.

He doesn't see Varian coming forward slowly, cautiously, until he sees the boy's new boots- _boots...the kid had proper boots now. Not those wraps around his feet and ankles...proper shoes_ , appear before him. Varian looks down at him silently, the slightest bits of concern and sympathy flickering behind his cold, dark eyes before his lips curl in disdain and he turns towards the crowd. "One more minute left." He calls out with a bit of hope, trying to disguise his confusion and impatience as the remaining folks look at eachother. "Is there anyone else who wants a turn?"

No one inches forward.

"Come on!" Varian eggs, a hollow, forced laugh coughing out of his seemingly depleted chest and ringing out in the cold, deadly silence. "Does no one else want to take a jab? He hurt more people than just... _that_?" Varian grinds out hopefully, but the people still remain hesitant, still.

Varian huffs in growing frustration, whipping to look at Eugene's pained stance before looking back at the people-and then his eyes change, in disheartenment and disgust, when he sees the looks of sympathy Eugene was getting. It is the look of someone who tries desperately and yet cannot, for the life of him, gain the satisfaction or fulfillment he so yearns.

The muscles in Varian's face twist and churn disgracefully, distastefully, and then he is whipping back around, marching forward with his eyes narrowed in set determination and hatred, fists and jaw clenched. He stalks forward and lifts his foot, kicking the tip right into Eugene's broken nose. The man cries out, swearing, contempt sizzling and redirecting. "F-Fuck!" T-Too much. Too much pain. It should have gone numb by now...maybe he would mercifully pass out by now.

"STOP!" Rapunzel screams for the umpteenth time, staggering as she sinks to her knees and pulls at her chains against her captors. "There isn't anyone anymore! What more are you looking for? What are you doing this for, Varian?!When will it be _enough_?"

"It will never be enough! Nothing will ever be enough! Not until you've endured the same amount of **PAIN and AGONY** I HAVE" Varian yells at the top of his lungs, voice thin with pure rage, sorrow, frustration, and intent. He narrows his eyes and then punches Eugene in the jaw, swinging his face to the side before punching him again...and _yet again_ . He glares down with dissatisfaction at the darkening purple and black blooms on the man's face, as though trying to ascertain how much of him could be abused further, before sharply and squarely kicking him in the side and stomach, _repeatedly_ . Eugene cries out-the kid's blows weren't all that much, to be honest, but they were being delivered on regions he had already been beaten at by people with far stronger blows. "Fuck, why isn't _anything_ enough?!" Varians shrieks in dismay and pain, eyes unfocused and breath faltering as his body exhausts himself. "Why don't you fucking faint? Why don't you _scream_ ? You bloody two-faced self-centered _prat_ ! Beg me to stop! Tell me you were wrong! _CRY_!"

"S- _hnhn_ ! -Stop it! Cut it out! Is that what you want to hear, _Hairstripe_ ?" Eugene finally grinds out with difficulty, fresh hatred blazing behind his tired eyes as he glares up at the boy and meets his sharp, surprised, fixated gaze. "If you all need to stop being dramatic is to be told to _fucking stop_ , then please, for the love of whatever crowned you king, STOP IT!"

Varian's face falls, eyeing him suspiciously. "Dramatic, eh?" He scoffs before he dons his mask and kicks him square and straight in the chest. "Or what? What are you going to do, _Flynn Rider_ ?" Varian openly taunts, voice shaking yet dripping with disdain and disappointment and...a hollow sarcasm. "Are- are you going to _punish me_ ? Leave me alone in a jail cell to die without looking back? Talk about how you've changed, and how you can conveniently scoff down at poor orphans and pretend you never were one, blindly support everyone who wants to hurt me, safe on your perch with your new _crowd_ of rich friends, preaching about how thievery is _wrong_ and thinking you're _above all that_ -!" Varian's voice raises until it cracks, and this time his blow is much stronger despite his breathless exhaustion, sore and pounding deep into Eugene's bones and veins.

Eugene gasps for breath from the next blow, reeling and yet steeling himself as he tries to straighten and blink for clarity through the tears and blood and swollen eye, guilt and contempt and frustration clawing at his still sore chest as he tries to shudder for breath. "We had to do it. We had no choice. Varian, you were dangerous." Eugene tries to reason.

Varian's eyes narrow then, anger fanned into a vapid flame, and the boy shrieks in hatred and rage, pummeling the man's face as his body jerks so hard in the chains that Eugene fears he might have pulled an arm. "You...you _hypocrite_ ! You self-righteous, pompous, arrogant _hypocrite_! How does no one hate you nearly enough as they hated me?" Varian screams, and as Eugene doubles in on himself, the boy kneels down, twisting his hand in the man's hair and forcing him to look directly into his eyes. 

“M-Maybe because I didn’t try to commit _regicide_?” Eugene tries to spit back breathlessly.

" _No one hesitated_ when _my_ time wasn't up. Some guards went over the time limit and it was _alright_ ." Varian's arms begin to tremble, and he sharply sucks in a breath, small tears beginning to leak out of his eyes and cascade down his flushed, reddened cheeks, tear-filled eyes still ablaze. " _Why doesn't anyone hate you as much?_ " Varian cries, and his voice cracks, and then he is falling- ugly, wretched, heart-wrenching sobs tearing their way out of his throat as he loses his composure and sinks to his knees, letting go of Eugene's hair, body wracking with tears as he screams and cries at no one and nothing in particular, digging his own fingers into his scalp and yanking fruitlessly at his already messy hair. Eugene stares, mouth agape, not knowing what to make of it. The entire audience has fallen silent in shock and confusion.

A few moments pass, and then Varian freezes, sniffling in bitter contempt as his face numbly tilts down to stare at the dirt, looking down at his hands-sticky with blood, mud, sweat and tears-before quietly, self-consciously looking up at the bewildered audience and then an equally bewildered...slightly sympathetic-looking Eugene. Varian's eyes narrow, and then he is standing...slowly, surely, stumbling slightly but _standing_ upright as though nothing had happened. He curls his lips in disdain when he looks at his soiled clothes, before pointing his finger at Eugene and gesturing for a few Saporians to come forth. "Get this disgusting bastard out of my sight." He orders quietly, his voice lacking its sharp edge and grit.

"Where...where should we put him though? Most of the cells are occupied, either undergoing reconstruction or filled to the-"

"I don't fucking care!" Varian snaps impatiently, more contained than his breakdown before. "The slammer, the bottom floor, hell, the _bathroom cabinet_ for all I care! Get him out of my sight and away from me, _please_!"

The Saporians nod, and Eugene grunts as they force him to try standing fully again, offering little healthy support as they practically drag him after untethering the chains holding him to the ground. His knees wobble and ache, his head light and unfocused, his abdomen and back still aching terribly and each breath sending sharp spikes of pain shooting up his chest and throughout his being.

Varian sniffles, wiping at his face, eyes blinking in exhaustion as he turns to the crowd. "7 Minutes of Magnanimity is over. Most of you failed, as usual. You stupid, two-faced sheep." He hesitantly makes the weak insult, but the most it does is draw a few concerned looks and maybe one offended gasp (from Feldspar lol). "Now...get back to work. Until next time, folks." His voice barely holds himself before he wraps his arms around himself and begins striding out of the clearing as quickly as possible, fast enough for almost no one save a distraught and traumatized Eugene and Rapunzel notice the boy's evident trembling.

Eugene finds himself in the cell he shared with Rapunzel, who immediately rushed to him as soon as the Saporians had left, cradling his face and checking him over in concern and endless tears of horror. "Eugene...oh my gosh...are you okay?" She splutters, still trying to overcome her own sobs and wincing in sorrow as the man hisses in pain.

"I'm..f-fine." Eugene manages to gasp, shakily wrapping an arm around his stomach as he tries shifting into a more comfortable position on the rock-hard bed. Rapunzel unties her hair and clasps the strands shakily in her hands, looking at him carefully and trying to find a place to start. She settles for trying to secure his strained arm and potentially broken ribs to his chest, dabbing cautiously at the splotches of blood and bruises littering his being.

"The hell are you crying for?" Varian's sudden, watery yell bursts through the thin silence, and the two jolt from their places, only to realize that Varian wasn't actually there nor yelling at them.

They quieten, listening to the soft, familiar weeping and quiet talking...somewhere beyond their cell, down the corridor. Then Varian's own voice again, complete with its own tears. "Don't cry. Don't you _fucking_ cry. Where were those tears for me when _I_ needed them? Call yourself a father." Despite the scorn and distaste in the boy's sharp voice, there is a regretful, almost guilty tone puncturing through, trying hard to withhold tears himself. "Dad...for the love of God... _please shut up_."

Eugene's eyes narrow. Varian was talking...to Quirin? Or was the kid talking to himself? No...that was impossible...Quirin was still in amber. Quirin...the boy’s father...who they had left as they had left the boy, suspended in the aftermath of a cruel and endless web of lies, secrets and past messes that no one would talk about. 

"Yeah, I'll think about it." Varian remarks, his voice louder than whoever seemed to be talking to him as it recovered from his tears. "Y-no, I will _not_. How many kings do you know actually have 'happy birthdays?'. Fuck you, Dad."

Eugene then stares ahead, watching the boy walk past the other cells before stopping at their own. Varian's face softens, and he looks down at where Rapunzel was trying to treat Eugene's wounds. "Some pressure there might help." He suggests nonchalantly, and both of the prisoners' eyes narrow in annoyance and suspicion.

"We've got this, no thanks to you." Rapunzel hisses in contempt, and Eugene joins her. 

"Don't you have someone else to torment in your free time? Or is this revenge-thing a one-time deal?"

Varian's eyes quietly watch them, somewhat disheartened and yet still composed, largely...unfathomable, unshakeable, unblinking. "I can have some things sent." He whispers then, voice devoid of any emotion. He stares back at them.

Rapunzel and Eugene fall silent, unsure of what to make of it.

Without their prompting, Varian hums and nods to himself, mind elsewhere. "Yes...I'll have some things sent. And maybe...a thermostat." He confirms to no one, tapping his chin as he wraps his arms around himself and shivers. "It's so fucking cold. Why do you always make it so _cold_? Goddammit Eugene!" Varian hisses weakly, teeth chattering. Eugene's eyes narrow cluelessly, mildly annoyed but more afraid and concerned at the boy's behavior. 

Rapunzel watches carefully in concern and confusion, not knowing what to expect.

Varian turns on his heel and walks up the stairs, and Eugene sighs, slumping and trying to help Rapunzel wrap her hair around his arm. "What are we going to do?"

Rapunzel sighs in worry, looking up at him with determination. "We'll find a way out...we always do."

Eugene shifts uncomfortably. "Did-did you hear what the kid said? About...the guards?"

Rapunzel's eyes snap up to meet his, searching before they glisten and she looks down, trying to regain focus on the task at hand. "Yes." She whispers. "Yes, I did."

"Do you think-?"

"I don't know _what_ to think, to be honest.” She quickly counters, brows furrowing as her mind races. “All I know and want to think about is how to get you fixed...and how to get out. Some people were unwilling to beat you. That must mean they know Varian is wrong...or...that...there is still _some_ loyalty left for us. We can lead a rebellion...just as we find a way out."

They are shifting then, her sorrowful gaze flitting up from his wound to his eyes. “I’m sorry.” She quietly whispers, and his heart thunders against his chest, surging and shoving more tears to the forefront of his already blurred vision and dripping them over the brim of his eyes in cold pulses, minutes, streams.

“I’m sorry.” He says to no one in particular, and yet to everyone he knew. I’m sorry for leaving you at the altar. I’m sorry for not speaking for you sooner. I’m sorry for leaving everyone...and everything. I’m sorry all I do is hurt those around me, even if I was hurt in turn or did not intend to hurt.

A spike of alarm and insecurity, broiling deep and powerful and _painful_ in his chest. What if... _he_ was left behind? 

The image of Varian’s back, retreating from sight as the man sunk knee deep into the mud, spasming from the beatings and breathing heavily, alone in his pain flashes across Eugene’s mind, forever burned into its core and pulsating even more apparently than the raw sting rippling across his torn flesh.

Subconsciously, Eugene’s grip on Rapunzel tightens, hoping to gain some semblance of comfort and solace in the hope that she wouldn’t leave him. That...if they were to be thrown aside, or put through more…he wouldn’t be forgotten, or left behind. Left...to sink and sob and pant in the whirlwind of a past he had unknowingly etched into his own heart and tied to the rungs of the unforgetful world, the ever-spiteful and sinking pit of mud that consumed his legs and prevented him from getting up, from moving forward. Left...to be swathed and swim in the messes of his own mistakes and regrets.

Rapunzel does not look at his face, ducking her head under his chin and curling herself against his chest, one hand pressed gently against his shoulder so that his back rests a bit more comfortably against the wall without much irritation. Not that he would have noticed. Not now, not like this.

Eventually, the man’s eyelids gradually become heavy, his bones sinking and mind numbing with the wear and tear of the exhausting day and its aftermath. 

For the moment, Eugene decides that however cold it was, he can bear it the best he can. For the moment, Eugene realizes that while he may never know he will be free, he is not alone, he is not...as cold as before.

With the former princess and the rogue asleep, and the guards changing rotations, no one notices a quiet boy bring two trays of medical supplies and food, and surreptitiously slip them at the side of the prison cots, wistfully watching the two curled up at the corner of their cell.

No one notices the boy’s arms wrap around himself, his face twisted with bitter contempt and fighting something less discernible.

No one notices the cold except the boy, who shivers by himself before a cold mask resumes his tired face, and a cold glint in his eyes seals up the final moments he had of staring at those in front of him. The faint yet cold clicks of his newly polished boots echo throughout the dungeons.

It is cold, and no one notices anymore.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Me, sometimes: Wow...I hurt a child.
> 
> Also me, sometimes: WOW I MUST HURT EUGENE
> 
> How was that?


End file.
